I will mainly use this camera for family photos, in the park and to photograph our new baby due in January. I’m not a pro, just an amateur printing mostly 4x6 and an occasional 8x10. I also don’t look at my photos at 100% on the computer screen and analyze each pixel.

My crazy justification is that I have the money now, in 6-12 months with all the baby expenses I may not be so willing to part with the money...haha !! Also, I like the fact that the better lens has the image stabilizer that would allow me to shoot without a flash in some instances.

I read the reviews on the site and it sure seems like the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens makes a nice upgrade option and will suit my requirements of getting a good general purpose lens that I can leave attached all the time.

I did notice a "small" discrepancy in the review of the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens:

Interesting discrepancy. The value score can obviously change with time but the fact that the optical quality result is different is less easy to understand given that it is physically the same lens in both tests. Maybe the lens had the benefit of a factory service in the year between the two tests? I don't know.

In any event, lens testing is an art as well as a science and results do vary between different examples of the same model. If you want more reviews then check here and here.

You've stumbled across the problem of giving something a final score, as it's always compared to something at the time the verdict was written. That 'something' can change between reviews, as does the actual state of play between reviews.

You'll notice our standalone 17-85mm review was published in December 05 and the group test published in September 06. Times change as do the products we compare them against. Always bear this in mind and also see the 'relative to' part next to the scores - as you'll see, they're relative to different products.

Ultimately scores are a popular part of reviews, but please don't take them as the most important part. Please always check the results pages, read through the verdicts and of course try the products for yourself before making a decision.